“You are such a jetsetter.” My friend said to me, well, I guess I am in the past three months. Two trips to China with just three weeks in between, and now here I am at Heathrow again, the third trip in this year. Standing in the queue for security check, I was feeling quite tired, I think frequent travel plus long hours in the office certainly put some mental drain on me, and the post 9/11 and 7/7 don’t make things easier for any of us. Surprisingly though, people don’t seem to be discouraged from travelling despite all the hassles and environmentalist’s far cry for cutting carbon emissions. It is amazing how the horizon for individuals has expanded over the 20th century and this momentum seems to continue in the new century. I have always liked HSBC’s ad, well, not so much “the world’s local bank”, but the posters on different people and different views. The world could be a much better place if we could accept and appreciate the differences.
I had a relaxing stroll in the duty free shops and went to the juice bar to have a fancy smoothie “groovy muesli mango”. Organic is a concept that could sell these days, sometimes I wonder if it is a mental thing than anything with substance. But I certainly felt quite good after this vitamin shot. Just when my spirits got boosted, the first sign of delayed boarding showed up on the screen. 18:40, still no sign of boarding, I started to get a big grumpy – I should be home having a glass of wine and enjoying my supper!
Finally the gate numbers showed up on the screen, with a much relieved sign, I gathered my bags and started walking toward the gate. And strangely enough, we were led to another security check. A bit ridiculous really, do they think we could make a dirty bomb out of some perfume bought at the duty free shops? I knew I was definitely at the right gate when I was soon surrounded by tall blonde guys and girls. Well, I was almost already in Sweden!
Early next morning, when it was still chilly in the air, I walked from hotel to the office. It shows 0C on the big illuminated board, bare trees and no sign of spring flowers,
Spring is a bit late in a Scandinavian country. I had to walk as fast as I can as my legs were freezing in the cold.
I have been to Stockholm a few times now during the past four year, this is where the action is for the one million residents, and it is actually a beautiful city especially in summer. But in the suburb where we have an office, it is more like the silicon valley of Sweden, with many chip companies research and development centres. And ironically the hotel I was staying is called Mr. Chip, a bit too explicit I thought, but much to the point anyway.
I had a dinner plan with a friend in the city so I took the Ubann (the subway system in Stockholm) to the city centre in the evening. As usual, people are very disciplined and quiet on the train, and the sun just came down and shed golden glow on the pine trees outside the window, for a minute, I can’t help to appreciate the secluded beauty of Scandinavians. It is something not pretentious and showy, and gives you comfort and peace.
the world could be a much better place if we could accept and appreciate the differences.
It was really nice to see her, my Swedish friend I met in China. And the best part is, we could have girls talk in the restaurant where nobody else understood us. I was amused when she used Chinese word "appetite" but what she really meant was "sexuality" or in Chinese sex appetite not the appetite as for food. Again we were both amazed by the subtlties of languages and cultures.
Finally the gate numbers showed up on the screen, with a much relieved sign, I gathered my bags and started walking toward the gate. And strangely enough, we were led to another security check. A bit ridiculous really, do they think we could make a dirty bomb out of some perfume bought at the duty free shops? I knew I was definitely at the right gate when I was soon surrounded by tall blonde guys and girls. Well, I was almost already in Sweden!
Early next morning, when it was still chilly in the air, I walked from hotel to the office. It shows 0C on the big illuminated board, bare trees and no sign of spring flowers,
Spring is a bit late in a Scandinavian country. I had to walk as fast as I can as my legs were freezing in the cold.
I have been to Stockholm a few times now during the past four year, this is where the action is for the one million residents, and it is actually a beautiful city especially in summer. But in the suburb where we have an office, it is more like the silicon valley of Sweden, with many chip companies research and development centres. And ironically the hotel I was staying is called Mr. Chip, a bit too explicit I thought, but much to the point anyway.
I had a dinner plan with a friend in the city so I took the Ubann (the subway system in Stockholm) to the city centre in the evening. As usual, people are very disciplined and quiet on the train, and the sun just came down and shed golden glow on the pine trees outside the window, for a minute, I can’t help to appreciate the secluded beauty of Scandinavians. It is something not pretentious and showy, and gives you comfort and peace.
the world could be a much better place if we could accept and appreciate the differences.
It was really nice to see her, my Swedish friend I met in China. And the best part is, we could have girls talk in the restaurant where nobody else understood us. I was amused when she used Chinese word "appetite" but what she really meant was "sexuality" or in Chinese sex appetite not the appetite as for food. Again we were both amazed by the subtlties of languages and cultures.
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